Every Thursday night from 4-7pm, Barrel and Keg hosts a "Meet the Master" event where you can stop by and partake in a free tasting of local wine, beer, or cider. I've been keeping my eye on their tasting schedule to see who they have up. I visited a few weeks ago for 2 Town Cider's release party for their new Pacific Pineapple cider (it's delicious!) and have stopped by for a wine tasting or two as well. My friend FamousWJ introduced me to Bryn Mawr wines and I love their Pinot Noir, so when I saw that they were the masters we could meet this past Thursday, I knew I had to go!
I got my friends FamousWJ, JAG, and BettyCrocker on board and we all agreed to meet up at Barrel and Keg after work.
I walked in to a very bustling scene! The place was definitely hopping with every table taken. Luckily BettyCrocker had snagged us a free table towards the back. Barrel and Keg is a friendly neighborhood taphouse with lots of beers, ciders, and wine on tap (yes, the wine bottles are tapped!) and a whole bottled section displaying treats you can take home with you too. It has a laid back, neighborhoody atmosphere where it's inviting to come and hang out and spend some time.
The place was crowded with a scene that was a little older than the downtown clientele; it was mostly working professionals in their 30s-50s. There were people with dogs (they allow dogs inside!) and people with kids (they allow kids inside!).
After some hellos, I headed up to the front to start the wine tasting with a wine steward from Bryn Mawr.
The first taste up was a Rose. I liked it! It was sweet and light.
Next up was a Riesling that the billed as dry, but we thought it was actually pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, BettyCrocker and JAG decided that they wanted to try something out that was on tap. They had a lot to choose from!
JAG chose Mazama Mosair Egyptian IPA (what a name!). He said that it was a balanced, mild IPA with a good mouth feel. BettyCrocker gave Vagabond's Wolfhound Irish Red Ale a shot since she's into Irish beers. And as a bonus, Vagabond is a local Salem brewery! She enjoyed it.
When you head out the back, first you come into the bonus room. I once attended a pre-wedding/rehearsal dinner hang out here that was fun!
I saw a list of upcoming events on the chalkboard, convenient!
Out the back door is the food cart pod. It was seasonally decorated with cherry blossom petals.
On my way back in, I checked out the sticker wall by the restrooms.
And then I took a gander at all the bottled beers on shelves and bottles of wines in the wine room. There are so many to choose from!! This would be a great place to come for a gift for the beer lover in your life.
Then it was back to the wine tasting! Next up was the Pinot Noir #1. I talked to the wine steward about this wine and she said that they produce 900 cases and it's made from a mixture of grapes from their property and a property nearby.
This was the wine of theirs that I knew and loved already. It was still great.
Next up was Pinot #2. This one, I was told, is made from grapes on their prime property, called "Krista's Block," which is the highest elevation. The conditions make the grapes more complex. They make significantly less cases of this wine. I failed in my picture of the bottle, but we really enjoyed this wine. It had a rich flavor and was very smooth.
Around this time, while I was trying the Pinots, I had the really fun experience of running into another past Salem Takeover host, Victoria! We follow each other on Instagram and had seen each other's Salem Takeover weeks, but had never met in person. It was so fun to have Instagram merge with real life.
The last wine up was the Tempranillo. The wine steward told me that their Tempranillo vineyards were only started in the last 20 years. Tempranillo requires warmer, drier weather, and recent climate change has allowed these grapes to now grow in Oregon. (I guess there's an upside to climate change? Kind of...) I asked if the weather is good enough here to grow Tempranillo every year and she said yes, they make it every year. Wow! I gave it a try. The decks were stacked against this wine for me because I had just tried the expensive Pinot Noir, and Pinot is my favorite. I'd drink a glass of the Tempranillo, but it wasn't as complex or as tasty as the Pinot.
IAnd that was it! t was a fun night! I really liked getting to try the different Bryn Mawr wines since I've been a fan of their Pinot. It was nice to be in a laid back environment with my friends. It was fun that it was busy with so many people enjoying themselves. I will keep checking their Meet the Master schedule and drop in again, I'm sure. I hope you will too!
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